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Cisco Cloud Services Router vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Cloud Services Router
Ranking in Routers
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Routers
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Cloud Services Router is 4.1%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 7.1%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch7.1%
Cisco Cloud Services Router4.1%
Other88.8%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

VENKATESHREDDY - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate IT Director at Diligent Global
Manageable, provides excellent support, and easily integrates with other products
One central area for improvement in Cisco is its product line offering. Cisco has ISE and other products, such as DNS Center and other components. Instead of small to medium-sized customers purchasing devices and maintaining the devices, it would be great if customers could have subscriptions. A CAPEX/OPEX model instead of that Cisco code, where the pricing model is subscription-based, would give much better flexibility for the customers. The pricing and model for Cisco Cloud Services Router and other Cisco products could be improved. One good example of what I want to be added to the Cisco Cloud Services Router in its next version is for it to be more of a plug-and-play product. For example, Juniper has developed QR codes, so if you need to plug in a device, you scan from your phone and connect to the internet. That's it. You can provision the device remotely through the cloud orchestrator, so I want to see a similar function or feature in Cisco Cloud Services Router.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The routing service for NPLS called Layer 3-IP is fantastic."
"It integrates well with the other products we're using. We have it with multiple windows like Palo Alto, Arista and it easily integrated with them."
"What's best about Cisco Cloud Services Router is the support. It's excellent, and so far, no significant challenges. Another valuable feature of the product is easy integration with other products."
"It is definitely scalable. It can handle a lot more traffic and group work compared to any other products that I've evaluated. It could easily scale a lot more than what I'm doing right now."
"Overall, it is a solid product and a good router."
"The most valuable feature is the SNMP traps that I use to monitor the router and the availability of the network."
"It provides peace of mind because it is a stable product that you aren't going to lose sleep over at night wondering if it will be running or not."
"It connects all the accounts with the weaknesses, and this is what we were looking for. Also, it connects with the on-premise side."
"The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio."
"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."
"The traffic monitoring capabilities are excellent."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"I like that it's quite flexible and addresses different issues. It's quite easy to use, and the pricing is great. We find them to be very capable switches."
"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."
"The wiki page that describes the scripting and other features is very good."
 

Cons

"A CAPEX/OPEX model, where the pricing model is subscription-based, would give much better flexibility for the customers. The pricing and model for Cisco Cloud Services Router and other Cisco products could be improved."
"I would like the ability to moderate between devices on-premise to off-premise. This would be a vast improvement."
"You can use this router in a scalable solution but it has its limitations."
"Cisco Cloud Services Router could improve the GUI."
"Technical support could be better. I am missing a single pane of glass, where I can see all the connections, etc."
"The ease of use within the AWS environment needs to improve. Sometimes, it is very esoteric in how you use it. Therefore, you have to learn to use it, then you are able to."
"There should be a system in place to help existing users make an easier transition to the newer interfaces."
"I would like to see better security, where there are more access controls and data confidentiality."
"The packet filtering, user log data, and user access log could all be improved."
"Improvements are needed with respect to some of the security, especially for VPN links between vendors other than Cisco."
"The area for improvement is security. MikroTik is mostly used by medium and small businesses, so the security is not as robust as Cisco."
"The initial setup is complex."
"While some customers use MikroTik Cloud Router Switch as a firewall, it's not at an industry-level, though the basic features are adequate for many users who prefer it over purchasing other reputed firewall solutions."
"Technical support could be better."
"It would be even better with a centralized management platform."
"In medium to large sectors, there's a necessity for managing aspects like proxy firewalls."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good for what it offers."
"Cost is a big factor. We would like to see the price reduced."
"The licensing model is good with this appliance: Bring Your Own License (BYOL)."
"Cisco Cloud Services Router is an expensive product. My company pays for the product yearly, and the price reaches roughly $800,000. Though Cisco Cloud Services Router is expensive and its competitors offer better pricing, when it comes to support, it's unbeatable."
"Purchasing through the AWS Marketplace was easy; click a button and you have it."
"We never buy the product on the AWS Marketplace. We only download it. We always use BYOL. We never buy the license in the AWS Marketplace, because it's very expensive."
"The cost needs improvement. It is very expensive through the AWS Marketplace."
"The product is too expensive on the AWS Marketplace."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"The price is competitive."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
14%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What do you like most about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent.
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
 

Also Known As

Cisco CSR, Cisco Cloud Services Router 1000v, Cisco CSR 1000v
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Under Armour, HealthSparq, Adobe
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Cloud Services Router vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.